Eric Braeden News

In a stunning revelation, Eric Braeden recently admitted that he almost quit The Young and the Restless last year.

According to Soap Central, Braeden was not only disgusted with the direction of his character's storyline, but he was also unhappy with the situations of the other veteran characters. The actor sat down with then-executive producer Lynn Marie Latham to discuss the problems, but was frustrated by what he viewed as a lack of reciprocal concern.

This 2007 meeting came just after Latham had hired a brand new team of writers, some of whom had no previous experience in the soap genre.

During this regime's reign, Braeden said he felt that Victor Newman had become a weak and diminished character, forced to sit on the sidelines while an array of "new, younger characters" took over.

"I will always rail against this chasing of the mythical, young demographic, (that) leads to the dumbing down of television," Braeden said. "It's the bane of a lot of writers, directors and actors in this town."

Fortunately, The Young and the Restless recently elevated Maria Arena Bell, daughter-in-law of series co-creators Lee Phillip Bell and her late husband William, to the head writer position. Braeden couldn't be happier with the change.

"This is the happiest I've been on the show in a long time," he said. "The emphasis is again where it belongs, with the established characters on the show."

Last year, Eric Braeden took a break from The Young and the Restless to film a movie called The Man Who Came Back.

It's a story of murder, conspiracy and one man's revenge, written and directed by Glen Pitre. Braeden portrays Reese Paxton in the movie.

The premiere took place on February 8, 2008 at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, California. Here's a look at Braeden and costar Joshua Morrow from the event:

Eric Braeden poses with his son.

Joshua Morrow poses with his beautiful, pregnant wife.

Eric Braeden is the executive producer and star of the indie western The Man Who Came Back. With the filming of the movie complete, this stars hopes to have the it edited and rounded up by Christmas.

"I'm never someone to put the cart before the horse, but I’m beginning to have a very good feeling about it," said The Young and the Restless actor, who went on to praise his co-stars.

"The cast was just wonderful. George Kennedy, Billy Zane, James Patrick Stewart (ex-Justin, All My Children), Armand Asante, Peter Jason, Sean Young and Jennifer O'Dell (ex-Lana, General Hospital) — they are wonderful actors. But also wonderful to work with. There was a real camaraderie. They wanted to help out and I so appreciate what they did."

As he told Soap Opera Digest, Braeden has been locked in an editing room for six weeks now, ever since shooting wrapped.

"It's very tedious work, but it's also exciting," the actor said. "You see the movie in a microcosmic way and then you also have a bigger view of the overall picture. It assumes its own rhythm and you realize, 'That doesn’t fit there. It would go better here,' or you take it out completely. It's an interesting process."

Of course, once editing is complete, Braeden will have to market the film still. But his solid fan base from The Young and the Restless should come in handy for that.